Hi, Chuck. I installed a new top on my '73 Midget, and it's easy. The
original 7 snap fasteners along the rear retainer were attached to the
cockpit pinch weld with rivets. I found that I was popping these rivets
and losing the male part of the fastener frequently, so when I installed my
new top I used special male snaps with a threaded stud and nuts instead of
rivets. Externally, they look the same as the originals except for a
screwdriver slot in the center instead of a rivet head. So far, I haven't
lost any of these.
1. Fold the top in half to locate the center. Mark the center with chalk.
2. Put the top in place over the rear fastener locations with the center
chalk mark lined up with the center hole for the rear retainer bar. The
lower edge of the retainer bar should be lined up with the edge of the
binding material on the top. It helps to have an assistant or two to keep
the top properly stretched and located while you punch the holes.
3. Using an awl or icepick through the center fastener hole in the rear
cockpit pinch weld, punch through the top material to locate the fastener
hole. Ensure that the awl comes out through the center hole in the
retainer bar.
4. Install the snap fastener through the retainer bar, top material, and
the outer lip of the rubber seal.
5. Alternating from one side to the other, install the remaining six snap
fasteners along the rear edge of the top.
6. Position the top material tightly around the curves at the corners of
the cockpit. Use the Tenax stud holes in the pinch weld to locate the
holes in the top for the Tenax fasteners. I preferred to do these one at
a time, and alternate from side to side to make sure the top stayed even.
Punch the holes with the awl.
7. When all the fasteners are installed at the rear, latch the top frame
to the windshield.
8. Pull the top tight over the frame and down against the header rail over
the windshield. Have a couple assistants keep the top tight from side to
side over the frame. Using chalk, and feeling the edge of the header rail
through the top material, mark a line on the top indicating where the edge
of the header rail is. Now mark a parallel line 1/2 inch back from the
first. At this point, you can erase the first line.
9. Unlatch the top frame and partially fold it back. Apply contact cement
to the outer surface of the header rail, and the inner surface of the top
material back to the chalk line.
10. After the contact cement sets up, latch the header rail again. With
assistants keeping the top tight from side to side, pull the top tight over
the header rail and line up the (second) chalk line with the edge of the
header rail. The contact cement will keep it in place.
11. After the top is glued to the header rail, unlatch the rail and fold
the remaining material around the edge of the rail.
12. Now you are ready to install the seal channel and seal. I used
self-tapping screws for the seal channel instead of rivets. Probe with
the awl through the top material to find the rivet holes in the header
rail. This will properly locate the seal channel. The seal has a foot
that is stuffed into the channel with a screwdriver or something similar.
13. The various snap fasteners for the interior can be located by rubbing
chalk on the mating male part on the windshield posts and top frame,
stretching the material and rubbing it over the fastener to transfer the
chalk, then using the awl to punch the holes in the center of the chalk
marks. It takes a special tool to install the snap fasteners, but they are
available and not expensive.
Go for it!
Steve Byers
Havelock, NC USA
'73 Midget GAN5UD126009G "OO NINE"
"It is better to remain silent, and be thought a fool
than to speak, and remove all doubt" -- Mark Twain
----------
> From: Chuck Ciaffone <chuckc@ibm.net>
> To: spridgets@Autox.Team.Net
> Subject: Installing Hood
> Date: Friday, May 08, 1998 8:02 AM
>
> Can anyone point to a web site or some other
> place where I might find directions for installing
> a hood (convertible top)?
>
> I just received a new vinyl hood for my '72 Midget.
> Of course, it came with no directions for
> installation. Can't find anything in Haynes
> nor Bentley, either. I do have some directions
> for a B hood from the Do It Yourself Restoration
> book, but the B hood looks different from the
> Midget hood.
>
> Thanks,
>
> chuck
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